The EU Puts Off the Pan-European Recognition of Armenian Genocide Because of Turkey

Over a century ago the genocide of the Armenian people started. It's the second most known fact in the history of extermination of people on a national basis after the Holocaust. However, recognition of these tragic events as genocide still remains a hot topic of discussion for the entire international community. As it's known, the fact of the genocide, which affected more than a million of Armenians, has been recognized by the parliaments of many European countries, in particular, Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc. But not all EU member states show out European solidarity towards the Armenian people. This problem has been repeatedly raised by French president Emmanuel Macron who believes that the struggle to recognize the tragic events that occurred in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the last century is a struggle for truth and justice. Recently, the French leader announced that the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day would be included in the national calendar of France, and he also called upon for recognition of the genocide at the European level.

So, why are the EU leaders not willing to put on the agenda a question that, it would seem, has needed a solution for a long time? As it turned out, the reasons why European institutions ignore the problem of recognition of the Armenian Genocide are purely of political origin. This became known from a letter by German MEP Elmar Brok addressed to President of the European Council Donald Tusk.

In the message, Brock expresses the position of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose opinion undoubtedly influences the formation of the EU political agenda. The German leader, like Brock himself, believes that now is not the right time for the implementation of the Macron's initiative: "...Mrs. Merkel believes, and I fully share her position that the solution of this issue should be postponed to a more appropriate time, since it affects the sphere of Turkey's national interests". To recap, Turkey has traditionally been rejecting the accusations of mass extermination of Armenians over the First World War and at every possible way has been preventing any international community's attempts to recognize the tragic events a century ago as genocide, being extremely sensitive to the criticism from the West on this issue. For most Armenians, the memory of the genocide is not the event of the distant past, but a part of the national identity transmitting from generation to generation. However, it is worth remembering that what happened with the Armenians is related to the history of every nation. Despite this, Merkel urges the entire European community to keep ignoring this historical fact, apparently fearing to worsen relations with Ankara, which influences the solution of the migration problem. The issue of genocide cannot be turned into a bargaining chip and a political tool. It is unacceptable that the EU's foreign and domestic policies, which have always been based on liberal values, depend on the Turkish authorities, who deny historical facts and evade responsibility. We, Europeans, should defend our values, showing out pan-European solidarity with the Armenian people.